A network device operating system provides for the configuration and monitoring of network components. The appropriate components of the network device operating system may be installed in each network component, thereby creating a single, unified infrastructure for managing resources through a network. The network components may be configured and monitored by an external party, e.g., a management station, using the network device operating system. A network device operating system may connect different platforms, LAN segments, and networking components. Non-limiting, illustrative examples of networking components include standalone routers, router modules for shared-media hubs, switches, PC and workstation file servers, WAN access switches, and ATM-capable PBXs.
Management stations may use multiple interfaces or protocols in communicating with network components when using a network device operating system to perform configuration and monitoring functionality. For example, a command-line interface (CLI) is typically used in the configuration of network components, while the SNMP protocol is used in the management or monitoring of network components. The CLI allows network components to be configured; however, it is difficult to monitor components using CLI because the data generated in response to CLI commands is formatted such that it is easily understood by humans, but not by computers. On the other hand, while the SNMP protocol is designed for performing monitoring functionality, it does not support much configuration functionality.
As a result, network components generally have parsers to interpret and interface with different protocols used to perform configuration and monitoring functionality. However, the use of parsers at each network component to interpret multiple protocols has many disadvantages. First, the use of parsers at each network component has resulted in performance delays because a parser is a bottleneck for the flow of communication. Second, the use of the parsers does not readily facilitate the transmission of information back to the management station. Consequently, if a problem is encountered, information that may allow the management station to determine what went wrong at the network component, e.g., a return code, cannot easily be sent back from the network component to the management station. Finally, much of the communication that is received from network components using parsers is unstructured, which may allow a person to read the information, but the lack of structure makes it difficult for software or other computerized components to properly interpret the information as the format of the information may vary between different transactions and network components.
Accordingly, there is a need for a network device operating system that may process network device operating system operations without incurring the disadvantages of the prior art.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.